 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: PortBluePickles
Date: 2013-04-22 05:18
Hello,
I'm a high school student, and I have an orchestra concert next month. I play the Bb clarinet and am currently using V12, strength 3 reeds. One of the songs for our concert is Bacchanale from "Samson and Delilah," arranged by Merle J. Isaac. There are tons of sixteenth notes in this piece, and we're taking it at about 108 bpm. A lot of these sixteenth notes require me to cross over the break, going from A to B, G to C, G to B, A to C, and worst of all: F to B. It's practically impossible for me to do this and use the common fingerings at this speed and be able to get the note out. I am trying to figure out how to use the trill keys on the side of my clarinet for the alternate fingerings, but I can't figure out how exactly I'm supposed to get my knuckles up to the top two. It's really difficult, and I've never had to use those keys before. Any tips?
Thanks in advance,
--Emily
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Author: eaglgenes101
Date: 2013-04-22 05:36
If you need your hand on the trill keys, position them there beforehand. Make a note on the music if you need to.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-04-22 10:25
It's not your knuckle. You'll pretty much hit them with the end segment of your index finger. Anyway, that will only help with your A to B issue.
Keep in mind that there is more energy (push, air) on the upper note. So have THAT note in mind for each pair and think slight relaxation for the lower member.
I'm not envisioning the key you are in but if you are talking about F natural to Bb, or F# to B natural, then the sidekeys should help you out there too.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-04-22 11:06
You can get the C by playing throat Bb and opening both the top trill keys, so G-C is going from open G to throat Bb + both trill keys for the C.
The A-B one is easy - in the lower register you use the upper trill key for the B. If you're in the upper register, then play the B as nomal but lift off LH1 and open the throat A key, then open/close RH finger 1. This was mentioned on here recently so it's worth mentioning again as it's very useful.
F-B - while playing the F, open both trill keys to see what note that gives you.
In all cases, don't go by using the stock fingering charts as they're only guides for playing each of the basic notes in turn and won't help you with trills and tremolos.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2013-04-22 12:26
A student of mine just performed this in her regional middle-school orchestra.
Use of the trill keys is inappropriate for this piece ("song"). You need to use real fingerings or you will be quite out of tune.
Do a search here for "going over the break" and I think you will get some decent advice on how to accomplish this.
Better yet, look into getting some private lessons. A good teacher will have you easily going over the break in a few weeks.
Your ISP seems to be in Henderson. If indeed you live in the area, the website for the Henderson Symphony lists four clarinetists. I would think any of them would be able to help you out.
Good luck.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-04-22 19:43
Emily -
Keep all or most of the fingers on your right hand down. This will make the F-C interval (and all the other break-crossing figures) much simpler.
Next, get a copy of the Baermann Method, part 3. Master one exercise per day, beginning at the slowest speed on your metronome, one note per beat. Your goal is not to play fast but to play perfectly. NEVER GO FASTER THAN PERFECT. The exercises will engrave the patterns into your muscle memory, so that the next time you see that group of notes, you will recognize the shape, without reading each note, and let your fingers play them automatically.
This is about as much fun as eating light bulbs, but every clarinetist must do it. You build your own tools and lay the foundation for playing all tonal music. Give it your best time -- the first 10 minutes of each practice session.
Private lessons are almost essential, to have someone good listen to you and show you places to work on to make the notes and rhythm perfect.
Ken Shaw
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Author: PortBluePickles
Date: 2013-04-22 23:43
Thank you so much for all of the advice! I will start practicing now and I'll definitely look into getting private lessons.
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Author: eaglgenes101
Date: 2013-04-23 01:16
Another option is to hold down the right hand in the second note, and just move the left hand around. An added bonus is that the first note becomes a bit less airy and more full.
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Author: JackHorrocks
Date: 2013-04-25 22:00
I did this piece not too long ago. This may have been said, however before discarding the regular fingerings, maybe practice the 16th notes very, very slowly, but very loudly. Focussing on how the cross of the break sounds. You can then alter the amount of air to find what works best in terms of note production etc. I'm only suggesting this in case the trill keys lead to some dodgy intonation (depending on your instrument), especially when you throw the rest of the orchestra into the equation
Good luck
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Author: maxcoletti
Date: 2013-04-28 13:31
Ken Shaw wrote:
"Keep all or most of the fingers on your right hand down. This will make the F-C interval (and all the other break-crossing figures) much simpler."
Interesting... when I play a thumb F while keeping even a few of my right fingers down, the F becomes unbearably flat. I play on an R13 Buffet. Is this normal?
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-04-28 13:41
Check that the small pad under the A key is closing properly.
Tony F.
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2013-04-28 13:56
"This is about as much fun as eating light bulbs, but every clarinetist must do it. You build your own tools and lay the foundation for playing all tonal music. Give it your best time -- the first 10 minutes of each practice session."
Yup. Lightbulbs.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-04-28 14:13
Anything lower than open G will be affected (flattened significantly) when putting any RH fingers down as the LH2 ring key vent is closed.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: BenInBb
Date: 2013-05-06 03:42
"How many clarinetist does it take to eat a lightbulb?"
Just one, but he'll go through an entire box of lightbulbs until he finds just the right one!
As far as Danse Bachanalle goes, I played a different arrangement of this recently, and the original version. The key in both is fast air. You don't have to blow out a hurricane and make a huge sound, but if u keep pushing with your core so the air really moves, the intervals become much easier. Trill keys depend on your instrument the balance of your ensemble for tuning.
Ben Parker
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-05-06 10:15
Hey Ben,
Thank you for the term "pushing with your core." I've talked about "abdominals" forever but in today's workout environment (which is omnipresent) EVERYBODY knows what "core" is.
THANKS !!!!
...............Paul Aviles
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